Read Online Amelia (The Marriage Market Book 1) by Stevie MacFarlane - Free Book Online
Authors: Stevie MacFarlane
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the screen covered from neck to toe. Taking her hand, he pulled her back in front of the mirror and began taking the pins from her hair.
"You don't even know what you want," he informed her. "At least you didn't until I showed you."
"Oh yes, I'd forgotten," she drawled. "How lucky that my husband is so experienced he knows what I want at all times."
"I may not know what you want, but I know what you're going to get if you don't stop," he promised, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Swiftly he unbraided her hair and picked up her brush, giving it thoughtful consideration until she looked away with a pout.
"I thought so," he said with a satisfied smirk.
She stood still and quiet as he brushed all the tangles from her hair. Putting the brush down, he turned her toward him and gathered her into his arms with a sigh.
"I'm just trying to do the right thing, honey. I think we'd better get married very soon." Tipping her chin up, he kissed her and her anger melted away. "I'll always do what I think is best as far as you're concerned, Amelia. Whether you particularly like it or not, understand?"
Standing on tiptoes, she kissed his cheek and nodded.
"Good, now come and lock the door and go to bed. We have a lot to take care of tomorrow and I want to head home as soon as we can. Suddenly dallying here in San Francisco with you is becoming much too appealing," he said with a grin. "A man could forget his responsibilities entirely." Kissing her once more, he waited in the hall until he heard the key turn in the lock.
In his room, Hugh undressed and lay on the bed, his arms behind his head. She was going to be trouble, he admitted with a sigh. Placing the advertisement had seemed like an excellent idea at the time, but he'd looked at it as somewhat of a business deal. He wanted someone pleasant to look at and amenable. A women who would provide him with a child or two, keep his home running smoothly and not make too big of a nuisance of herself. Basically, he wanted someone the exact opposite of his mother.
Tempest Aurelia Beauchamp was easily the most aggravating woman he'd ever known. There weren't enough words to describe what was wrong with her, and some that came to mind couldn't be spoken in polite company. Insistent, demanding, flighty and infuriating were just the tip of the iceberg. While his father affectionately referred to her as his 'tempest in a teacup', Hugh and his brother Sam frequently wondered why their father didn't string her up or at least gag her.
The first years of their lives, they'd been dragged all over the world. Spending much of the time in France, they'd also been to India, Egypt and Australia. Around the age of thirteen, Hugh decided he'd had enough of ruffled shirts and prissy suits to last him a lifetime. Upon returning home to Seattle, he and Sam refused to leave, engaging in a war of wills with their mother that lasted nearly a year before she threw up her hands and packed her bags for an extended trip to her homeland.
Duncan kissed his wife good-bye and they all breathed a sigh of relief as she sailed away. After that, it seemed she came home long enough to have everyone in the house and surrounding area in an uproar, flaunt her wealth to those less fortunate and torment her husband and sons. At times it seemed to Hugh she was daring his father to stand up to her and put his foot down about her extravagant ways and impossible behavior, but Duncan never did.
"That's just her way, son. I can hardly fault her when I've spoiled her from the moment I met her. She was very young when we married and so beautiful she could have had any man she wanted. Sometimes I still can't believe she chose me, a lumberjack with calluses on his hands trying to get his business off the ground when she could have married a Duke."
"Did it ever occur to you she chose you because she needed someone to rein her in, someone strong enough to take her in hand, someone who was not awed by her family's wealth and social
"You don't even know what you want," he informed her. "At least you didn't until I showed you."
"Oh yes, I'd forgotten," she drawled. "How lucky that my husband is so experienced he knows what I want at all times."
"I may not know what you want, but I know what you're going to get if you don't stop," he promised, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Swiftly he unbraided her hair and picked up her brush, giving it thoughtful consideration until she looked away with a pout.
"I thought so," he said with a satisfied smirk.
She stood still and quiet as he brushed all the tangles from her hair. Putting the brush down, he turned her toward him and gathered her into his arms with a sigh.
"I'm just trying to do the right thing, honey. I think we'd better get married very soon." Tipping her chin up, he kissed her and her anger melted away. "I'll always do what I think is best as far as you're concerned, Amelia. Whether you particularly like it or not, understand?"
Standing on tiptoes, she kissed his cheek and nodded.
"Good, now come and lock the door and go to bed. We have a lot to take care of tomorrow and I want to head home as soon as we can. Suddenly dallying here in San Francisco with you is becoming much too appealing," he said with a grin. "A man could forget his responsibilities entirely." Kissing her once more, he waited in the hall until he heard the key turn in the lock.
In his room, Hugh undressed and lay on the bed, his arms behind his head. She was going to be trouble, he admitted with a sigh. Placing the advertisement had seemed like an excellent idea at the time, but he'd looked at it as somewhat of a business deal. He wanted someone pleasant to look at and amenable. A women who would provide him with a child or two, keep his home running smoothly and not make too big of a nuisance of herself. Basically, he wanted someone the exact opposite of his mother.
Tempest Aurelia Beauchamp was easily the most aggravating woman he'd ever known. There weren't enough words to describe what was wrong with her, and some that came to mind couldn't be spoken in polite company. Insistent, demanding, flighty and infuriating were just the tip of the iceberg. While his father affectionately referred to her as his 'tempest in a teacup', Hugh and his brother Sam frequently wondered why their father didn't string her up or at least gag her.
The first years of their lives, they'd been dragged all over the world. Spending much of the time in France, they'd also been to India, Egypt and Australia. Around the age of thirteen, Hugh decided he'd had enough of ruffled shirts and prissy suits to last him a lifetime. Upon returning home to Seattle, he and Sam refused to leave, engaging in a war of wills with their mother that lasted nearly a year before she threw up her hands and packed her bags for an extended trip to her homeland.
Duncan kissed his wife good-bye and they all breathed a sigh of relief as she sailed away. After that, it seemed she came home long enough to have everyone in the house and surrounding area in an uproar, flaunt her wealth to those less fortunate and torment her husband and sons. At times it seemed to Hugh she was daring his father to stand up to her and put his foot down about her extravagant ways and impossible behavior, but Duncan never did.
"That's just her way, son. I can hardly fault her when I've spoiled her from the moment I met her. She was very young when we married and so beautiful she could have had any man she wanted. Sometimes I still can't believe she chose me, a lumberjack with calluses on his hands trying to get his business off the ground when she could have married a Duke."
"Did it ever occur to you she chose you because she needed someone to rein her in, someone strong enough to take her in hand, someone who was not awed by her family's wealth and social
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